Customer Reviews

How to Write a Better Thesis

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Over the four years I spent working on my PhD, I must have read hundreds of papers and substantial parts of many books. In terms of the quality of the finished thesis, this little book was probably the most important. Lots of good, practical advice, even for an experienced writer: schedule a full re-read before giving it to the supervisor for review (they'll add more value if they're not fixing things you could fix yourself); re-write the introduction every six weeks; advice on how examiners read theses (and hence where to put the extra effort). The section on writing the conclusions was a big help in getting the job finished. The section devoted to effective use of word processors is probably redundant for most of us: but there are enough nuggets in the rest of the book to more than compensate. My only regret is that I didn't purchase it at the beginning instead of half-way through when a fellow student recommended it.

Many research students have laboured to produce their thesis not knowing quite what was expected of them. This small, clear, concise book steps the student through each section of the thesis. It explains why students should start writing almost straight away and that the old style of doing all the work then writing it all up is a hangover from pre-word processor days. It explains why the introduction is important and what should be in it. Same for the section on research method. In short, it explains what is required of your thesis over and above the obligation to describe your research.
It also settles the research student's doubts about the merits of their work by explaining what is expected of it.

This is good book, with worthwhile ideas about starting, re-working, growing, arranging and finishing a thesis to be proud of for a long time. The best parts deal with understanding the overall structure of the thesis, and the relationship between the words and the work over time. But then there are seemingly superficial parts that any graduate student would know (use a spell checker) or that are dated (floppy disc, zip disc).

Glad I read this consise book. But really glad I read it at the library and so saved my money for more comprehensive tomes about surviving and thriving grad school.

I bought this book before starting my thesis, and I am REALLY glad I did! I have become a whiz with microsoft word- it has saved me heaps of time with formatting. Every time I got stuck with my work this book helped me get back on track, and now I'm in the final stages I have it next to me constantly with post-its hanging out of every side! The ESSENTIAL companion for anyone writing a thesis!

I have not started my PhD yet, but my supervisor advised me to read this book. I read it about a month ago.

It is a nice book, with many practical tips and gives the reader an excellent insight of what is expected from a thesis, how you should make the research process and at the writing altogether.

It is easy to read, simple language and quite pleasant, even.

I read a lot of dissertation books. This book is by far, the easiest book to read on how to write a better thesis and dissertation. The tips are excellent and I wish I had this book when I was in my undergrad.

There is no question that all students need to go thru organizing and writing their thesis at some point during their academic period, and this perfect little book will help everyone, particularly PhD students. The book is very easy to read, follow, and comprehend. It has clear instructions and suggestions on how and what to do in order to deliver an outstanding thesis.

This book is extremely outdated - it gives instructions for how to format MS Word 2000 and suggests students back up their work on floppy disks or zip disks. I am a graduate student in the humanities, MA in History to be specific, and this book does not apply to me at all. If you are a student who will use the scientific method, create a hypothesis, test it, and discuss your conclusions, then this book may be useful for you. Humanities students work under very different operating procedures. Also, the authors spend a lot of time talking about format and how the students can use whatever format they want as long as they are consistent. My graduate school has very specific rules regarding format. This is not my department, this is the graduate school itself, and they are not open to personal interpretations of their guidelines. Based on other stories I've heard, I don't think many graduate schools are flexible in their formatting rules, but I could be completely wrong. The authors are academics in Australia, so perhaps that explains the different expectations?

If you are in a scientific discipline, with a graduate school that offers a lot of flexibility with thesis formatting, then you might find this book helpful. For me, it was pointless; it was a disappointing purchase.